First word from Judd

So the section of trail Judd is presently on includes the most arduous sections.  It's the place where the hiker Inchworm went missing and was not found for two years.  Judd and I talked about it on our hike.  He couldn't believe she wouldn't just make a fire.  I said, maybe she broke both her ankles and couldn't reach her backpack.  He said that's why he carries matches on him.  I said, maybe they were all wet.  He said, that's why he carries waterproof matches.  I said, maybe she was already delirious from dehydration or exhaustion. Maybe a bear mauled her and took her matches.  I said he clearly was not imaginative enough to invent all the ways a person, even a smart person with matches in their pocket, could fall to harm.......

But then I stopped thinking about it, spent the night in the nice British-y Inn and Pub, newly purchased by a couple from California (what were they THINKING?) and kissed him goodbye the next morning, making sure he did have the car keys for his vehicle parked at the other end. He *said* he had his bic lighter on him.

And so, to allay any worries I might invent, here is the first text I get from Judd, July 6, 2:30pm........................guess he's alive, albeit with low battery.